Sunday, May 02, 2010

In for a Penny

With May Day signaling the bright beginning of all things warm, I got online and placed an order with one of my favorite nurseries. It tallied up to $106 ~ for which they demanded $26 for shipping.

Does that seem excessive? Or, am I a cheapskate?

It's not like I was ordering a 10 foot tall Wisteria Tree or anything remotely that grand. These are eensy, teensy seedlings that fit neatly into one, small box.

I heart John Cabot Roses. I've never met such a profuse, low maintenance, kind of water-wise, all-summer bloomer. They look particularly cool if you plant Baby's Breath nearby.

Cranky over the shipping charges, I doubled down on the Cabots and nixed most everything else, tearing flower pictures out of that catalog and adding them to the other shopping list.

That 'other list' being a picture file, of sorts, filled with the perennials I discovered in that catalog, though I'll buy locally because I can get plants twice the size, for about half the price.

Such a hot-cha-cha pink color it's kind of blinding.

Just one more reason why I love 'em. :)

I suppose that's cheating. But, what's a gal on a budget supposed to do? And, when will online nurseries get with the program? Every other website offers free shipping. (My shoe tree is overflowing ever since I discovered Zappos.) Why can't flower shops do me the same favor??

So, that's my rant. And, here's my rave:

As in rave reviews for the John Cabot Roses who'll strut their stuff in the very last garden I plan to plant. Once this one is done, then I'll be done.

34 comments:

yes, I AM chuckling. I say this everytime I place an order - I know it's not true, but I say it anyway. Who are we fooling?

The John Cabot is definitely lovely! Roses are really spectacular. I've got a bunch growing in an area that has rejected a lot of other perennials and they're just carefree and gorgeous. Even on totally neglected summers, yes, some rust, yes, some powdery mildew, but still GORGEOUS gorgeous flowers.

I am frustrated by shipping charges, too! Instead of figuring on what it costs to ship, they use how much you spend! The vermont country store wanted $12 to ship two pair of socks! You can probably tell, it is a pet peeve... (and I work for a shipping company!)

Yeah, I don't feel the love for shipping charges. I think $26.00 is extremely excessive. You could buy 4 gallon size plants at Cactus and Tropicals! Well, maybe;-)You're funny.....gardening done! Especially with our recent weather. I just sit in the window and look outside at all the things I should be doing through the drizzle.

Kate girl .. ME TOO !!!This is the first year I have gone a little overboard with mail order plants .. but these are ones I thought would drive me crazy looking for them here and NOT getting them, while I really really NEED ? aka "want" them ?? LOLHey .. I have to bring you to task on not mentioning this point !CANADIAN bred roses for our winter which we let you "share" .. hehehehe ! Also .. when you might think of experimenting with other CANADIAN roses .. try some "Morden" cultivars .. bred in Manitoba ! they will survive just about anything : )My fav is Morden Sunrise .. I bought another one a few weeks ago here in Kingston ;-)You gotta' love these hardy hardy babies !!Joy .. wink wink

Hi, Melospiza;Of course if you were to buy a private jet, then you could just fly down to that nursery and save the shipping costs. Sort of. :) Plus, you could take me with you! So, please don't rule that one out just yet...

I hate those dang shipping charges! So annoying. The place I ordered this year let you ship your packing peanuts back for free shipping on your next order. So I spent the $5 to ship them back - someone please remind me about the shipping voucher next time I order!!! Your roses are fabulous.

I can see why you love John Cabot--gorgeous blooms! Kate, you've touched a nerve with me. Last year, I swore I'd never buy plants online again. I placed a small order and spent nearly as much on shipping as I did on the plants, which turned out to be teeny weeny when they arrived. I much prefer buying locally where I can see the plant I'm buying, get a bigger one for the same price, and not have to pay those ridiculous shipping charges. And yet, I've been looking for an Incrediball hydrangea, and the only place I can find it is online...

Stumbled onto your site because I'm trying to ID a purple wildflower that I THINK I saw in your purple flower contest back in February!

Did you ever give the answers!? A couple of people answered, and I know at least one person saw two different plant that they thought were Dame's Rocket. I think the last pic was Dame's Rocket, and the plant pictured second is- I think- the one I'm trying to ID! PLEASE TELL ME WHAT IT IS! If it's what I've got, it looks just like Dame's Rocket except that the leaves are more heart shaped and textured. Can you help me!? BTW I'm in Wisconsin.-Elenabyrnex4@tds.net

Rose -- I've been drooling over the same Hydrangea! Which is kind of odd because I'm not usually a fan of white flowers (I see too much white snow in winter hence my love of hot colors in the garden.) But those blossoms just sound amazing! If you find a free ship nursery pah-leeze let me know. :))

Hi, Elena;Thanks for the note. I think you might be talking about the Kashmir Sage (Phlomis Tuberosa) -- everybody fell in love with that perennial! I divided up what seeds I had among far too many gardeners so I probably disappointed everyone... Here's a link to that post. http://bit.ly/cv9r9D And, here's the plant ids, 1) May Night Salvia, 2) River Prairie Phlox, 3) Cranesbill Geranium Johnson's Blue, 4) Kashmir Sage 5) Dame's Rocket

Hi Kate~~ I mailed three plants to Darla in Tallahassee from my western Oregon home and it cost 17 bucks. Crazy. Fortunately Big Dipper Farm in Washington State has a flat $8.00 shipping fee for Oregon and surrounding states. Postal rates have gotten astronomical. Forest Farm in southern Oregon is an amazing mail order nursery with great prices but by the time you throw in the shipping charges, it becomes imperative that one play the lottery or rob a bank or both.

I have Johnny growing in my garden too and he's definitely a winner. He's full of buds--no blooms yet, and has a 'Polish Spirit' clematis rummaging through his prickly stems. I have his slightly paler cousin 'William Baffin' growing here too. Both fabulous, long season stalwarts. They should be in every garden, don't you think?

Well. It's a good thing I read the comments! Here you are 'suggesting' to her to get me to knit her socks. Like she needs the encouragement! I was particularly looking for her response, seeing as who she works for. There is a knitting pattern I would love to have, but get this. The company doesn't do .pdf downloads, and charge $4.50 shipping on a 6-8 page booklet! I don't need the pattern that bad.

Hi Kate, I didn't know you "penny" for you "p" also! Shopping online for plants is tricky at best - I agree with Rose - I prefer to see what I'm getting from the get-go. John Cabot is gorgeous. Are you ordering bareroot roses? It seems late to me but I know you're at altitude!

Celebrating 10 Years

Celebrating 10 Years.. of playing in the mud! :) After 10 fab years, I feel I've said everything there is to say about flowers. So, now, this blog has become a public diary for gardening, horses and... Horsing Around!